Tafinlar (dabrafenib) and Mekinist (trametinib) combined have been approved to treat anaplastic thyroid cancer caused by an abnormal BRAF V600E gene, the agency said Friday in a news release.

Anaplastic thyroid cancer is a rare, yet aggressive form of the disease. Almost 54,000 people will be diagnosed with thyroid cancer in the United States this year, and more than 2,000 will die from it, the National Institutes of Health estimates. Anaplastic thyroid cancer accounts for up to 2 percent of cases, the FDA said.